Matt Placed 17th in the 2007 Iron Butt Rally

This is Part 3 in a three part story:  Part 1 or Part 2 of this drama.

The final installment is that I had my subframe repaired and it didn’t even cost $6,000,000. It cost 80 bucks via welder Greg Brott of Kennewick and is signicantly improved!

Greg basically added a 1/4 plate on the back, cut some windows out to make sure the wires from the tail lights wouldn’t rub against the metal as well as gusseting it.

A back view shows the plate and at the bottom there are additional “tabs” that roll over and span a 1/4″ gap that also adds more structural integrity.

Greg said, “I had to weld it three times. Each time I’d heat it up……the metal impurities would sweat out of it. The cast piece is not the best metal.”

So, perhaps in hindsight I could have Yamaha give me a new subframe, but I wouldn’t be assured it wouldn’t be another subframe from the same production run. For $80 this was the best option for my piece of mind.

Next issues was the way I had my plate mounted. In the past I removed the rear rack, tied an aluminum plate straight to 3 points on subframe, and called it good. This time I took a longer, closer look at the existing rack and since it’s tied into 5 different points I decided Yamaha engineers had already done a good bit of the design for me and attach my plate to the rack. It’s not much to look at and has seen some hard life with bungees on my previous rear storage bag….so I drilled some holes in the beefy plastic.

Then I redrilled some holes in the alumnium plate after moving the affair as far forward as I could and still have the Pelican not interfere with the auxilliary fuel tank. It’s about an inch farther forward than it was before…and a tiny bit crooked. Fasteners at bottom are the pigtail for a CB anteannae I’m adding in a near-term project.

Most of my effort was driving around my hometown trying to find some very specific fasteners. 6mm x 50mm, stainless steel, recessed head screws are hard to find! While I was there I found some nylon washers that should help putting the metal through the plastic of the rack.

Mounted all up the bike is taking on it’s heavy-weight rally shape for the 2007 season. The case will hold my camera, a set of maps, laptop, various cables, and extra storage for my GPS when not mounted on the bike. I also got a padlock and cable to secure my helmet.

Enter my friend Doug C. who’s also in this year’s IBR. I tell him about my hairbrained scheme of a Spring ride and he says, “Can I go?”

Sure! Sounds like a great ride to do together. It’s not for points, it’s a good ride to hone our stop and location hunting skills, and gives us two cameras to shoot different angles.

Another thing I thought was it would be a natural to add the state capitol, so it will be a round 40 stops including the State Capitol Building.

Departure plan is to leave Thursday evening, May 3, meet up in or around Chehalis, get a decent night’s sleep, and then start in Chehails Friday morning. If we’re fortunate, we’ll be done with Prosser in slightly less than 48 hours on Sunday.

Here’s the route plan to date (35 is an abitrary point to make sure we don’t get routed through Idaho):

Now it’s time to start doing my anti-rain dance…….

This is Part 2 in a three part story:  Part 1 or Part 3 of this drama.

Following up on Hecho en Pasco and talking with a TIG welding expert on the huge amount of electromagnetic interference generated while welding I became convinced it was a more prudent choice to remove the subframe before welding. This was new ground for me on the bike and there wasn’t the handy-dandy write-up like so many other parts on FJRTech.com. In fact, I’ll probably submit this for inclusion.

I guestimated it to take 3 or 4 hours and would require removing the airbox, ABS unit, and who knows what. In hindsight it probably took 2 hours of work including the photo documentation. Hopefully reassembly will go more quickly.

Remove seats, sidebags, and rear rack.

Remove front plastic including black pieces under tank and side gray panels.

Remove rear plastic (two bolts and six plastic screwserts underneath). Picture shows plastic slid backwards about 4 inches.

A view of the cracked subframe and the single 6mm hex bolt that holds on the tail light assembly. It’s a 5mm hex. Undo the plug, two zip ties holding the wiring harness, and snake the connector from the left side of the frame.

Taillights removed. Notice rubber grommets left and right. This is where the pins from the tail light assembly sit. Also viewable is the electrical connector to the cluster on the left side. Also, my first view of the crack from the back side.

Now the serious work starts. Unscrewing and unbolting bolts I’ve never done before. What I wondered is how much of the parts inside the subframe would have to be removed? Did the airbox have to be removed, the ABS unit, the tool tray, the computer, the seat release cable, etc.?

In hindsight I would have done things roughly in this order:

Remove the rear tank bracket from the frame. 4 bolts into the frame. I don’t believe you need to disconnect the two over the air box. The tank doesn’t move a significant amount with these bolts removed.

Remove the two 6mm hex on each side holding the exhaust bracket to the subframe. In my case I have a Wilbers preload adjuster in between. I just let it hang.

I removed the tool tray with two bolts into the subframe and then three Phillips screws that attach the tray to airbox. I think you need to remove the tool tray and attached computer because you’ll not want to leave it attached to the subframe for welding. Also I removed the two nuts holding on the seat lock bracket in the left of the screen.

Picture of the removed tool tray and computer showing the three screws holding it to the airbox.

The underside of the wheel well plastic (the large chunk of plastic that runs from above the rear tire to points inside the guts of the bike) is held on by 2 bolts in the rear and 4 to 6 screwserts on the bottom tube of the subframe.

Also held on by screwserts is the outer cover of the airbox. It might be possible to leave it on and remove just some of the screserts, but I removed it entirely.

I also removed the crosspiece that houses the shock absorber hardness settings. Again, I have a Wilbers so I don’t have the adjuster, but suffice will need to unbolt the bracket. It’s held on by 4 hex heads….3 mm I think. If you have ABS…it’s worthy to note that the ABS unit is attached to this bracket.

Final piece to remove is the rear brake fluid reservoir. It’s held in with a single Phillips screw and then let it hang freely by the ABS unit.

You’re now read to actually remove the subframe. It’s only held on by six fasteners. Two 8mm hex heads (one on each side) with a nut on the backside as I show here with an allen wrench and end wrench. I don’t believe these were loctited:

And the four 6mm hex heads (two each side) on the upper part of the subframe near the tank. They were Loctited with green and came loose with a loud “Pop” and flex of the allen wrench. These willl be critical to retorque when reassembling.

At this point the subframe should be free and will probably pull itself away from the bike a bit. Try moving it backwards a few inches and see if you’ve missed anything. Again, I believe you shouldn’t have to remove the airbox (except for maybe the cover), you shouldn’t have to remove the ABS unit. I purposely left on the reinforced plastic for the sidebags. Nothing electronic in there to worry about frying with TIG welding.

Here’s a funny sight. Rear subframe dettached and hugger plastic resting on the tire.

An angle of the subframe free of the bike. The blue wire is a special ground I run for my aux. fuel cell.

A close-up of one of the cracks.

And a shot of the subframe I’m taking to the welder. I put back on the taillights so they’d know about critical tolerances when they repair and strenghten the frame.

Finally a couple bonus shots of things one doesn’t usually see because this area of the bike isn’t torn apart often.

Shot of seat release cable:

ABS unit and free-hanging rear brake reservoir. In need of some wipe-down before reassembly.

The wiring harness for the computer….after I had wiped some of the greasy crud off of it. Still needs more wiping.

Ever wonder the handhold is like? It’s an add-on piece of reinforced plastic….the kind they make Rollerblades out of. It has a distinctive almost metallic “tink…tink….tink” sound when you tap it. Solid stuff. Same material for the bag slots just viewable on the right edge.

Next installment…..Fijo en Kennewick: The $6,000,000 Subframe

I don’t wear an Aerostich….the gold standard for LD riders. I’ve thought about ponying up the $700+ bucks for a Roadcrafter “Stich”, but what started out as a budget-minded mish-mash of previously owned snowmobile gear for rain protection and desert-required Joe Rocket mesh gear has turned into what I think is a superior choice for LD riding.

Just before my latest love tryst with motorcycling I snowmobiled a fair amount and was spoiled by the incredible design of Klim Aggresive Sledwar. Snowmobiling in Northern Idaho’s Priest Lake is as extreme as it gets where avalanche beacons, a sturdy jacket, and packed lunch are gear derigeur. Klim is actually cliche wear by locals because of it’s solid reputation for design, durability, and value.

I’ve had a wet crotch many, many times over my years sledding, but none of them were while wearing a set of Klim bibs. Besides the name “Klim” being cool…..one you go Klim…..you won’t go back.

However, riding a 2 wheeled touring rocket in the relative dryness and heat of the Columbia Basin Summer I quickly learned that a mesh jacket and cooling vest are also required gear for that season.So the dilmena……or maybe a lesson I’m figuring out.
When you start riding wider chunks of North America what do you do when broiling by day through the August afternoon sun of Phoenix at 110 degrees, then ride onto a 10,000 foot Utah mountain pass at o’dark thirty where you gotta watch out for frost patches on the road, and then descend into the high plains of Colorado to a wall of swirling horizontal rain at sunrise?

A Stich will work certainly…….but I gotta think during that first Phoenix leg you’re doing an uncanny impersonation of a baked potato wrapped in tin foil. …..and I bet your crotch is wet too…..yuck!
I experienced just that scenario while riding the 5 day SPANK rally in August 2005. I rode the whole day with mesh on recharging my Sahara Vest (which helps reduce dehydration as well) at every gas stop in and around Phoenix. As I rolled into Joshua Tree, CA at the evening’s checkpoint I was certainly warm, but I was surprised how much better I appeared to feel than my Stich encased brethren.

In fact, I ended up being the only person that rode the night straight through.  As the evening temperature dropped I took off the cooling vest and put on my Klim jacket, opened the huge undearm vents in the warm but coolin gevening, and found myself zipping them up as I began dodging frost patches around Flagstaff. After midnight I turned up my electric Widders and soaked in the fact that the temperature had swung 120 degrees in less than 12 hours of riding.
After that night I learned that I was capable of riding some serious extremes of temperature with this choice of gear….while being able to pack it all on my bike for many days at a time.

Range of temperatures I’ve ridden with this gear.  120 miles at 11 degrees, 500 miles at 100+ degrees.
Base Layer:

• REI bicycle shorts. No lines equals no Monkey Butt and I wear these 24×7 riding LD. I even wear them to the shower and wash them down (there’s a detail you wish you never read)
• REI Midweight MTS Long-Sleeve T-Neck. Technically long underwear I find the MTS material wicks moisture away well whether it’s hot or cold.

Armor and Warm Weather Layer:

• Joe Rocket, Santa Fe mesh jacket. I bought this a few weeks before I got the FJR.
• Joe Rocket Phoenix Mesh Pants.
• Joe Rocket Sahara Vest. This things works so well I’d like to find a way to recharge it while on the move.

Outer/Rain/Cold Layer:

• Klim Tomahawk Jacket. Bought in 2002 and it still smells of two-stroke oil, but hasn’t worn out.
• Klim Togwattee Bibs. Greatest rain pants ever invented.

Very Cold Layer:

• REI Midweight MTS Bottoms
• Widder ‘Lectric2 Vest, Arm Chaps, Leg Chaps, & Gloves

Super-Duper Cold Layer:

• Old Navy fleece top and bottoms. (doubles as pajama party wear in case a bonus calls for visiting the Playboy Mansion)